A MURDERER who attacked his friend with a claw hammer has been sentenced to life imprisonment.

Giuseppe Lo Medico, 55, of no fixed address, was last week found guilty of the murder of Terrence Longman, 50, at a flat in Cumberland Park, Acton, on March 24.

Lo Medico was yesterday sentenced at the Old Bailey to life imprisonment, to serve a minimum of 18 years.

A murder investigation was launched following the discovery of Mr Longman's body at the flat.

Officers were led to the flat by Lo Medico, who walked into Acton Police Station and told the station officer he had been drinking and that he thought that his friend was dead.

A post-mortem examination at Uxbridge Mortuary the following day gave head injury as the cause of death.

A Met Police spokesman said: "It is believed he had been struck between 12 and 13 times on the forehead with a hammer."